Focault Analysis Essays - Military Education And Training

Focault Analysis Essays - Military Education And Training Focault Analysis The Manufacturing of an American Soldier: An Examination of the Indoctrination Process During the Gulf War at Fort Knox, Kentucky As a soldier, you have accepted a solemn obligation to defend the ideals of freedom, justice, truth, and equality as found in The Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution. Whether you are serving a single term or making a career of the military, your actions should never be contrary to the ideals and principles upon which this nation was founded. - Department of the Army, Soldier's Handbook (62) In February of 1991, Bravo Troop of the 5/15 Cavalry stationed at Fort Knox, Kentucky Training Facility performed a ritualized, ceremonial examination of its new recruits. The recruits arose at four a.m. and marched till eight to arrive at a small, secluded building surrounded by forest. The recruits stood in a single-file line facing the entrance of the building, eyes forward, feet shoulder width apart, hands folded in the small of their back. Approximately one hundred and twenty recruits stood peering through the lenses of their protective masks, watching fifteen soldiers enter the building. Once inside the building, the fifteen recruits stood at attention, fingers curled, thumb locked on second knuckle of the index finger, hands placed at their sides, heels together, feet splayed at a forty-five degree angle, stomach in, chin-up, eyes forward, in three lines, five recruits deep, facing the Drill Instructor. The room was filled with thick, white smoke. The only light came from a sm all fire burning on the cement floor at the drill instructor's feet. Beside the fire was a metal, olive-green container labeled in black, block lettering the read, Solid CS Agent. The Drill instructed the recruits, still standing at attention, to remove their protective masks, which they did with little hesitation. Exposure to such high concentrations of CS gas produces a violent, bodily reaction that cannot be refused. Once the face is exposed, the valve connecting the lungs to the windpipe involuntarily closes. Those who were able coughed quietly to themselves for lack of air while others vomited silently. The eyes, once exposed to the irritant, attempted to flush the gas away with profuse tearing. Likewise, the nose made an effort to remove the irritant. Thick ropes of mucus hung from the recruits' noses, some of these ropes reaching as far down as the knees on shorter soldiers. The fifteen recruits tried to stand at attention, fingers curled, thumb placed on second knuckle of index finger, hands at their sides, heels together, feet splayed at a forty-five degree angle, stomach in, chin-up, eyes forward, in three straight lines, five recruits deep, facing the drill instructor with a mixture of mucus, tears, and vomit smeared across their bodies. The drill instructor, still wearing his protec tive mask, walked to the first recruit and demanded to know the maximum effective range of an M16-A2 rifle. The recruit barked back something unintelligible, his mouth making dumb O shapes. After the drill seemed satisfied, he dismissed the recruit, who then ran out the back door of the building. The drill made his way down the line, examining each recruit individually in order to make sure that the correct level of docility had been exercised, while simultaneously administering his power to set each recruit free. Apparently, I had a lot to learn. *** The point of this essay is to examine the American military's indoctrination of the new recruit. In many ways, this essay will echo and hopefully build upon the work of Michel Foucault, particularly Discipline and Punish. As Foucault admits in Discipline and Punish, There can be no question here of writing the history of different disciplinary institutions, with all their individual differences. I simply intend to map on a series of examples some of the essential techniques that most easily spread from one [institution] to another (139). Since Foucault never intended a specific application in Discipline and Punish, the purpose of this essay is to examine the ways in which Foucault's theories concerning discipline play out in actual practice at a specific place in time, namely that of the Fort Knox Training Facility during the height of the Gulf War. This particular historical event offers a snapshot of the American indoctrination